Ofcourse it didn't take just Mayles. However, who knows Banjo Kazooie better than the guy who did the concept, setting, story and gameplay?

You can be a bad ass programmer but can you dream a bad ass game?

Don't get me wrong: I admire Mayles a lot and nothing would make me happier than Banjo-Threeie. I bought my 360 in part because of Nuts & Bolts -- which turned out to be different from what I expected, but still fun. But I look at Rare's track record since 2003 and I look at how Microsoft has mismanaged the studio, and it's hard to be optimistic. Mayles is an essential piece of the puzzle, I agree. I just think he needs to right team below him and the right management above him to be successful.

I see what you mean. The Kickstarter was very successful so maybe the reception doesn't entirely reflect how people feel about the game. We'll see how things turn out soon enough.

But as far as I'm aware Playtonic is the only developer that attempted to revive the 90s platromer and there aren't that many developers that can capitalize on nostalgia like they can. So I don't see any developer out there that can even learn from Yooka Laylee's flaws let alone try to do same thing. 

I wouldn't call it mismanagement. It was a decade of transition, Perfect dark team left as soon as they shipped the game. 

Most of the team didn't like Nintendo's intrusion later in their relationship. Microsoft basically got a decaying team with some talented individuals still at the helm of Rare. Viva Pinata, Kameo, Kinect and Sports Nuts & Bolts were excellent games.

Huh, did the game release early? I was unaware of that. Also, it lands around the 70 mark, and last I recalled, 70 is still a good game.

Yeah I was going to say, no one  ever anywhere has ever claimed banjo was a hidden gem, its was a commercial, and critical success. I would put banjo above Mario 64 and PD above Goldeneye.

It was a combination of a lot of things, yes. A lot of the talent left around 2000, which is why Nintendo was smart to let the studio go. But I don't think Microsoft did Rare any favors. Its inexperience really hurt the studio in those first few years, and later on, according to ex-Rare employees, the relationship between the two parties was far from ideal.

Personally, I only find Nuts & Bolts to be a special game. That's one excellent game in 15 years. Between 1994 and 2001, Rare was turning out great games every year. It's just an average studio now, which stings.

Nah, I prefer to try it myself. I've played dozens of games which haven't scored well, and I adore some of them. One of my favourite games last gen scored around a 7-8. Woolly World and TW101 for example. Yooka-Laylee scores are all OTT so I guess it's the type of game you either love or hate.

And everyone thought MS ruined Rare.
Maybe MS need to hire a better team for Banjo Threeie.

Maybe it won't be a commercial failure, but if it sells poorly, I don't think Microsoft would want them back?